Medical experts in the country are calling for a review of the country’s pneumonia vaccine strategy to further protect children from one of the top causes of deaths among children aged five years old and younger.
Based on United Nations Children’s Fund data, one child dies every 39 seconds due to pneumonia worldwide, while the Philippines ranks fifth globally in terms of pneumonia-related deaths.
The University of the Philippines College of Public Health (UP-CPH) said the public must be given a more affordable vaccine option against pneumonia. Currently, the Philippines is only using PCV-13 in its national immunization program.
“Since 2014, PCV-13 was the one that has been recommended. Two years ago in 2020, maybe early 2021, they reassessed the PCV-10 and this was also recommended already by the HTAC [Health Technology Assessment Council] to the DOH,” Dr. Maita Lota of UP-PCH said.
“When you have that recommendation by the HTAC, you are now allowed to bid in the government for them to consider a particular product,” she added.
Experts have already recommended two types of the PCV-10.
According to the World Health Organization, there is evidence suggesting changes in the epidemiology of pneumococcal disease as a basis to include vaccines with direct protection against all serotypes causing pneumococcal pneumonia. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG- bny
